# seed

Pronunciation: say "SEED" /siːd/

## Noun

1. A small, hard part produced by a plant, typically a fertilized ripened ovule containing an embryo, that can grow into a new plant; also, loosely, a small seedlike fruit such as those on a strawberry.
   - Simple: The small hard part of a plant that can grow into a new plant, like those inside fruit or on strawberries.
   - _Each seed contains everything needed to start a new plant._
   - _Botanists examined the seeds under a microscope to study the embryos._
2. Grains, kernels, tubers, bulbs or other plant parts taken collectively, in the quantities sown to raise crops or other plants.
   - Simple: A supply of grains, kernels, bulbs, or other plant parts used to grow crops or other plants.
   - _The catalog sells seed for vegetables, along with bulbs and tubers._
   - _Before spring, the farmer bought enough seed to plant forty acres of corn and a field of oats._
3. A ranked position assigned to a competitor or team in a tournament draw, or the competitor or team holding that position.
   - Simple: A player or team given a ranking in a tournament so top players don't meet early. Also that ranking.
   - _The third seed advanced after a tight five-set match._
   - _Commentators were stunned when the top seed crashed out early._
4. An early source or beginning from which something much larger later grows.
   - Simple: The first small thing that later grows into something much bigger.
   - _Her offhand remark became the seed of an entire novel._
   - _The strike was the seed of a much wider movement._
12. The starting value used to initialize a pseudorandom number generator or similar system.
   - Simple: A starting number that a computer uses to make a series of random-looking values.
   - _Developers set a fixed seed so the test produces the same results every time._
   - _Sharing the seed lets another player generate an identical map._
13. In casual US slang, a person's child or children. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: In casual slang, a person's child.
   - _That man would do anything for his seed._
   - _He talks about his seed with obvious pride._
14. Semen, regarded as the male contribution to producing offspring.
   - Simple: The fluid from a male body that can start a pregnancy, also called semen.
   - _Old medical writers believed a man's seed carried the whole pattern of the unborn child._
   - _The couple prayed that his seed would take and give them a child at last._
15. A small particle, bubble, or flaw that acts as a starting point for a process such as crystal or bubble formation.
   - Simple: A tiny bit, bubble, or flaw that lets a process begin and grow.
   - _A single dust grain served as the seed for the crystal to grow around._
   - _Without a seed, the supercooled water stayed liquid below freezing._

## Verb

5. To plant or scatter seeds over an area of ground so that a crop or lawn takes hold.
   - Simple: To put seeds into the ground across an area so that plants will grow.
   - _The farmer seeds the back acres with clover each fall._
   - _Volunteers seed the hillside to prevent erosion._
6. To assign a competitor a ranked starting position in a tournament draw.
   - Simple: To give a player or team a ranked starting spot in a tournament.
   - _The committee seeds teams according to their season records._
   - _Officials seed the top contenders to keep them apart early._
7. To start something off by supplying the initial resources, funding, or conditions it needs to develop.
   - Simple: To give something its first resources or starting point so it can grow.
   - _Angel investors seed startups long before they earn revenue._
   - _The foundation seeded the program with an initial donation._
8. Of a plant, to produce seeds and shed them.
   - Simple: When a plant makes seeds and lets them drop.
   - _Basil will seed quickly if you let it flower._
   - _Some bamboo species seed only once in many decades._
10. To scatter small particles into a cloud or air mass in order to trigger rainfall.
   - Simple: To drop tiny particles into clouds to make rain fall.
   - _Pilots seed clouds over the reservoir during dry spells._
   - _The agency seeded the clouds with silver iodide to coax out rain._
11. To keep shared files available so that other users can download them through a peer-to-peer network.
   - Simple: To keep a file open on your computer so other people can download it.
   - _Good users seed the torrent long after they finish downloading._
   - _She seeded the album for a week to help the swarm._
16. To cover a surface thinly with scattered material, or to ornament it with small seedlike decorations.
   - Simple: To scatter small bits thinly over something, or to decorate it with tiny seedlike pieces.
   - _The jeweler seeded the brooch with rows of minute pearls._
   - _Artisans seed the enamel with specks of gold for a starry effect._

## Noun

9. A person's offspring or descendants taken collectively; also, the lineage or line of descent someone belongs to. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Old use: a person's children and later family, or the family line someone comes from.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A small bubble that forms in glass when it has fused imperfectly.
- (verb) To qualify for competition, especially at the quarter-final, semi-final, or final stage.
- (verb) To develop and grow to full maturity.
- (noun) A commercial message in creative form, placed on relevant Internet sites to start spreading.
- (noun) A broken-off fragment of coral.
- (verb) To ejaculate inside the person being penetrated during sex, especially in the rectum.

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English seed, from Old English sēd or sǣd ("seed, that which is sown"), going back through Proto-Germanic *sēdą to the Proto-Indo-European root *seh₁- ("to sow, throw"). It is related to Dutch zaad, German Saat, Swedish säd, and Latin satiō ("seeding, time of sowing").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/seed (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).